If I think I have asthma what should I do?

If I think I have asthma what should I do?

If you haven’t been to your health care provider yet and you think you might have asthma, call and make an appointment as soon as possible. Getting diagnosed and treated quickly will make a big difference in the way you feel.

How is asthma diagnosed?

Only your health care provider can tell if you have asthma. He/she will ask you questions about how you are feeling in general and also specific questions about your breathing. You will be asked about your past health and your family’s health and about any medications you take and if you have any allergies. Your health care provider will likely give you a physical exam and check your nose, listen to your lungs and heart, etc. to make sure you don’t have any other problems. You might be asked to breathe into a tube (called a “peak flow meter”) that measures how much air your lungs can hold. If you are diagnosed with asthma you may be referred to a specialist.

What is exercise-induced asthma (EIA)?

Some people only have asthma symptoms when they exercise or play sports. People with EIA have airways that are overly sensitive to sudden changes in temperature and humidity, especially when breathing colder, drier air during aerobic exercise. There are some things you can do to help control exercise-induced asthma.

Take a quick-acting prescription inhaler 15 minutes before you exercise (to open up your airway)

Do warm up exercises for about 10-minutes before heavy physical activity

Begin exercising slowly and work up to a faster pace-This has been found to prevent asthma symptoms during exercise

If you have symptoms and need your Albuterol more than twice a week, you probably need a medication you can take daily to control your symptoms. This daily controller medication may come as another type of inhaler, or as a pill. SEE YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER IF YOU NEED YOUR DAILY RESCUE MEDICATION (ALBUTEROL) MORE THAN TWICE A WEEK.

Treatment

How is asthma treated?

Asthma is treated by: keeping track of how well your lungs are working (your health care provider will listen to your lungs), taking medications as directed, avoiding things that make it worse (triggers), controlling things in your environment, and learning how to manage it. Although there is currently no cure for asthma, it can be controlled extremely well.

An important part of asthma care is what you do to help manage it. Controlled asthma means you have very few or no symptoms and are able to do what you want to do.

Tips to control your asthma symptoms:

See your health care provider regularly and talk about any concerns you might have

Take medications as prescribed by your health care provider

Use a spacer with all inhaled medication

Use a “peak flow meter” if you have one

Keep a “symptom diary” that describes time, date, severity (how bad you feel) and exposure activity (what were you doing when the symptoms got worse)

Know your asthma “triggers” and try to avoid or eliminate them

Pay attention to your asthma so you know when it is getting worse and when to get help

Rest if your asthma is bothering you

Don’t smoke- or quit if you do

Learn as much as you can about asthma because the more you know, the better you can help care for yourself and feel good most of the time

You may have times when you don’t take care of your asthma as you usually do, such as forgetting to take your medicine or not remembering what triggers your asthma. Sometimes no matter what you do, your asthma may bother you when you least expect it to and you’ll need to take a fast-acting, quick-relief asthma medicine called Albuterol (that opens up your airways so you can breathe easier). If your Albuterol doesn’t make you feel better within 20 minutes, this means there is too much swelling or inflammation in your lungs – you should call your health care provider immediately, or call 911.

What kinds of medicines are used to treat asthma?

Some people need to take one or more types of medication daily for their asthma and others may not need to take any except when their asthma is bothersome. Your health care provider will decide what medications you need to take.

The two main components of asthma are bronchoconstriction – tightening of the muscles around your airways, and inflammation or swelling inside your airways.

Albuterol – also known as your “rescue” or “quick reliever” medicine will relax the muscles around your airways. There are 3 brands of Albuterol – ProAir®, Proventil®, and Ventolin®. They all have the same ingredients and work the same way. Controller medications are medicines that you need to take every day to decrease the swelling in your airways. Controller medications can be inhalers such as Flovent®, Pulmicort®, Asmanex®, QVAR®, Alvesco®, Aerospan®, Advair®, or Symbicort® or perhaps a pill such as Montelukast or Singulair. Your health care provider will teach you how and when to use your medicine.